Needle guard for sewing machines



L. LEMPERT 2,178,480

NEEDLE GUARD FOR SEWING MACHINES Patented Oct. 31, 1939 STATES @Fiii:

Application March 28, 1938, Serial No. 198,563 lln Great Britain April 2, 193'? 2 @laims.

This invention relates to sewing machines and has for its principal object to provide an improved guard to prevent the operatives fingers being trapped under the needle when the machine is in use without obscuring the view of the work being done.

According to the present invention a guard member is provided of metal or other rigid material slidably mounted in or on the needle bar, said guard being formed in one with or secured to the presser or arranged so that the bottom end contacts therewith, for example, said guard may comprise a plunger slidably mounted in or on the needle bar so as to lie in alignment with and adjacent to the needle in the front thereof the bottom end of the plunger being secured to or resting on the presser foot the guard plunger sliding in or on the needle bar as the needle rises and falls so that the space below the rising and falling point is always bridged by the rigid guard to prevent the unintentional entrance of the operatives fingers below said rising and falling needle point.

The invention will be more particularly described by the aid of the accompanying drawing wherein the same reference letters or characters refer to the same thing or part throughout the several views and in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of a sewing machine showing the invention applied thereto.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the relevant part of a sewing machine head showing a form of needle guard constructed according to the invention applied thereto.

Figure 3 is a plan view of Figure 2 with a machine head and needle bar removed.

Figure 4 is a side elevation of a sewing machine head having a rocking presser foot showing a form of guard according to the invention applied thereto with the needle in the bottom position.

Figure 5 is a like view to Figure 4 but with the needle raised while Figure 6 is a sectional view on the line 6, 6, Figure 5 and Figure 7 is a front view, while Figure 8 shows the guard detached.

Figure 9 is a side view corresponding to Figure 2 showing a modified form of needle guard.

In carrying the invention into effect according to one convenient manner and as illustrated in Figures 1 to 3 the needle guard comprises a vertical shank a formed of round metal wire extending upwardly into a groove in the needle bar b, to which the upper end of the needle is attached, so as to lie in front of the needle, said guard a resting on the top of the presser foot d and is provided with a rearward upturned extension a formed with an eye so that it can be secured by the stud e to the presser foot d as will be clearly seen from the drawing.

The guard a is formed from metal wire the same as or a little thicker than the needle, in front of which it lies in alignment therewith so that there is no obstruction whatever to the view of the line of stitching.

Figures 4 to 7 illustrate a similar arrangement applied to the rigid shank upon which is pivotally mounted the presser foot (1 In this case the lateral extension of the guard a is rigidly attached to the plate g formed with side flanges Q 9' to embrace the sides of the stem ,"f, said plate being formed with a slot g so that it can be attached by the stud 6 but it is to be understood that said guard may be secured in position in any convenient manner for example with the rigid type of presser foot the bottom end of the guard a may be screwed to enter a screwed hole h in the presser foot 03 as seen in Figure 9 or rest thereon.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is:

1. A guard for sewing machines embodying a needle bar, a sewing needle, and a presser foot comprising in combination a grooved needle bar, a sliding finger bar in said groove, a presser foot, and means to attach said guard to the presser foot, substantially as described.

2. A guard for sewing machines comprising in combination a grooved needle bar, a presser foot secured in position by a securing screw, a finger guard in the needle bar groove, a lateral extension at the lower end of said guard and means at the end of the extension to engage the presser foot securing screw, substantially as described.

LOUIS LEMPERT. 

